Princeton Record Exchange

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Princeton Record Exchange Entrance

Princeton Record Exchange CD Rack

Princeton Record Exchange, located at 20 South Tulane St. in Princeton, New Jersey, is an independent music store. PREX (as it is often referred to) was founded in 1980 by Barry Weisfeld. He had spent five years, beginning in 1975, selling used records from his van at flea markets and college campuses, and wanted to settle in one location. Princeton seemed ideal because of its central location on the east coast. The store opened in 1980 at 20 Nassau St, and moved to its current larger location in 1985. ^[1] Barry is a quirky disco-loving music aficionado and a Met fan, and a semi-pro shuttlecock player.^{[citation needed]}

The store spans 4,300 square feet and houses 150,000 titles^[2] the largest selection of any independent music store in the northeast.^{[citation needed]}

In spite of the growing competition that the internet has bred, the store maintains profitability by purchasing used cds, used dvds and used lps for resale. In peculiar contrast with most other internet business models, they do not sell music or movies online, but they do purchase many collections online.

By turning the internet from an enemy to an ally, they've created national interest through public information services including rock discographies and jazz discographies. Such services have garnered their business good will from their target demographic.

Positive publicity in leading music journals has also contributed to their businesses ongoing success. The New York Times is quoted as saying, "Customers come from as far as Scotland and Japan or as close as around the corner. Since 1980, the Record Exchange here has flourished ..." ^[3]

Billboard magazine has added, "With both bargain hunters and serious collectors, the Princeton Record Exchange has established a secure niche for itself." And major music groups have contributed, as LCD Soundsystem is quoted in Wire, "...if it wasn't for the Princeton Record Exchange, I might as well have grown up in the armpit of the world...The Record Exchange saved my life."

While the store offers an extensive selection of mainstream categories like rock, alternative, hip hop, and punk, it also features a selection of over 15,000 classical cds and jazz cds. In addition to music, Princeton Record Exchange also carries over 10,000 DVDs. The store employed Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) of Ween before the band's rise to fame.

[edit] In popular culture

In the episode "DNR" of the television series House, which takes place in Princeton & Plainsboro, Dr. House is seen entering the elevator holding a bag full of CDs from Princeton Record Exchange.

[edit] References

^ Princeton OnLine article about the store
^ Applebome, Peter. "In Princeton, an Offline Haven for Music Shoppers Thrives", New York Times, April 10, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
^ "Where Obsessed Hunters of Music Still Prowl", New York Times, October 22, 2000. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. "Customers come from as far as Scotland and Japan or as close as around the corner. Over the last 20 years, the Record Exchange here has flourished while many neighborhood shops -- seemingly not much different -- have failed. The store, in a fraying white wood-shingled building on South Tulane Street about a block from the university, contains a collection of about 100,000 records and 50,000 CDs that range in value from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars."